Jesus Montero, who is attempting a move to first base this spring, has been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma by the Seattle Mariners.

"I told Jesus he did an extremely good job for us in camp," Lloyd McClendon said. "He worked his tail off. He just had so far to go, particularly coming in so heavy. But he made tremendous strides. He probably made the biggest strides of anybody in camp. But he's only halfway there. He has to continue to work and continue to do what he's doing to get himself back to the big leagues."

Montero was Seattle's starting catcher at the start of last season after being acquired from the New York Yankees the year before, but struggled both with the bat and behind the plate and was sent down to Tacoma after hitting .208 in 29 games.